At Wimbledon, Andy Murray ‘can still play at the highest level’

Associated PressJun 29, 2021, 12:52 AM EDT

Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

WIMBLEDON, England — The Centre Court crowd roared when Andy Murray walked out onto the green grass for his first Wimbledon match in four years. He smiled and replied with a thumbs-up.

They roared some more when he claimed the first set of his first-round match Monday against 24th-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili. And again when he claimed the second. And when he seemed on the verge of a stroll through the third.

That’s when things got complicated for Murray, who won the title at the All England Club in 2013 – giving Britain its first male champion there in 77 years – and again in 2016, but since has needed two hip operations and dealt with other assorted injuries. After wasting a pair of match points and ceding the third set, Murray – much to the fans’ delight and, naturally, his own – pulled out the seesaw of a victory over Basilashvili by the score of 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, eliciting more roars.

Those shouts just kept coming, interrupting the 34-year-old Murray while he did an interview on court.

“I keep getting asked: Is this going to be my last Wimbledon? Last match? I don’t know why I keep getting asked about it. Like, no. I’m going to keep playing. I want to play,” said Murray, pausing as the sound from the stands reached a crescendo.

“I’m enjoying it and I can still play at the highest level,” Murray said when he resumed speaking. “He’s ranked 28th in the world, and I’ve hardly played any matches. And I beat him.”

Sure did. But not without some hitches for the man who has been ranked No. 1 but is currently No. 118 after recently going three months without competing anywhere.

Murray was playing his sixth match of the season, 30 fewer than Basilashvili, whose Grand Slam highlight was a run to the fourth round of the 2018 U.S. Open.

“It’s been extremely frustrating not being able to get on the court and I’ve had such little momentum over these last few years. And just kept trying, kept working hard in the gym, kept doing all the right things to get me back in this position,” Murray said. “I feel very lucky I get to do it again.”

Up 5-0 in the third set, Murray was broken three times in a row and lost seven consecutive games. He twice was one point from winning while ahead 5-3 in that set, before briefly losing his way.

“That’s never happened to me before in my career,” Murray said. “But there are things that can happen when you haven’t played any matches.”

He said later he was dealing with fatigue and some doubts that crept into his mind.

There was a break after the third set so the arena’s retractable roof could be closed to protect from rain.

Murray said he took a shower and went to the bathroom.

He also regrouped and regained control.

“A lot of players would have capitulated there,” Murray said. “I did the opposite of that.”

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

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PARIS — Ons Jabeur got a do-over on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open and won this time.

A year after her first-round exit, the No. 7 seed Jabeur beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1 to help erase some bad memories and answer questions about a recent calf injury.

The Tunisian, a crowd favorite in Paris, smiled and expressed relief in not repeating last year’s mistake, when she lost to Magda Linette of Poland.

“I’m very happy to win my first match on Philippe Chatrier – because I’ve never won here,” Jabeur said on court about the clay-court tournament’s main stadium.

Now she can focus on trying to win her first major. She was runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

The 28-year-old Jabeur has also battled injuries this season. She had knee surgery after the Australian Open, and was then sidelined with a calf injury. She had stopped playing against top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, in late April and then pulled out of the Madrid Open.

“It was a very difficult period for me after Stuttgart,” said Jabeur, adding that she’s beginning to find her rhythm.

Jabeur struck 27 winner’s to Bronzetti’s seven, though with 24 unforced errors she’ll have room to improve.

Mirra Andreeva had a memorable Grand Slam debut by dominating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-1. Andreeva’s older sister – 18-year-old Erika – was facing Emma Navarro later in the day.

Later, Swiatek gets her French Open title defense started against Cristina Bucsa, who is ranked 70th.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Casper Ruud beat qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, to remind the higher-profile tournament favorites that he was runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year at Roland Garros.

New mom Elina Svitolina beats seeded player at French Open in 1st Slam match in 16 months

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

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PARIS — So much has changed for Elina Svitolina, who played – and won – her first Grand Slam match in nearly 1 1/2 years at the French Open, eliminating 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

For one thing, she’s now a mother: Svitolina and her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in October. For another, Svitolina is now ranked 192nd, nowhere near the career high of No. 3 she first reached in 2017, back in the days when she was regularly reaching the second weeks of major tournaments – including a pair of semifinal runs. Away from the courts, her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia last year, and the war continues.

“Everything,” she said, “is kind of old and new for me right now.”

In sum, Svitolina is juggling a lot nowadays.

She hadn’t played at a Slam since a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January 2022. She hadn’t played a match anywhere since March 2022, when she was still ranked 20th.

“It was always in my head … to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” the 28-year-old Svitolina said.

The work to return to the tour after giving birth began this January; her initial WTA match came at Charleston, South Carolina, in April. She won her first title since returning to action, at a smaller event on red clay in Strasbourg, France.

At Roland Garros, she used her big forehand to compile a 20-12 edge in winners and never faced a single break point against Trevisan, who was seeded 26th.

Trevisan cried as she spoke after the match about a problem with her right foot that made it difficult to even walk and prompted her to stop playing during her quarterfinal last week at the Morocco Open, where she was the defending champion.

Still, she gave Svitolina credit.

“Even though she’s just coming back from having a daughter, she’s a champion,” Trevisan said. “And she’s coming off a title, so she’s confident.”

Svitolina talked about feeling “awful when you’re pregnant, especially the last months,” but getting into a position now where she thinks she’s stronger than before – in more ways than one.

“I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court and, match by match, I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental (state) can influence your physicality, as well,” she said. “I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently as well after the break. Everything is getting there. The puzzles are getting slowly into place.”